The day my trainer told me he was leaving…

Can we say booger snot tears? I will never forget how I was feeling that day– motivated, and finally not defeated. It was the first day in a while that I hadn’t felt sad, stressed or overwhelmed. I was genuinely excited to go to my training session and work out! I even texted Ryan before and asked him to “kick my ass” because I just knew I was in the mood to give it all I had that day.   

Fast forward to the end of the session when we usually just make a plan for the next one and say goodbye. Well…. not today! Ryan looked at me and said “we need to go have a heart to heart.” I looked at him and said “you better not be quitting!” I was serious but really joking because I was 100% not expecting it. As soon as we walked into that office and he shut the door I knew it was coming. He looked at me and told me the news that he was moving back to South Carolina at the end of March.  
I immediately teared up and then pulled myself together and started working through and action plan for who was going to train me. The second my foot stepped out of the gym the tears started welling up in my eyes. I cried for nearly 30 mins.  
Over the next few days I decided to start thinking about what I wanted to get out of my remaining time with Ryan and how I could learn as much as I could for him in that short period of time… little did I know my world would be turned upside down when I found out my mom had cancer and I wouldn’t even get to finish my sessions with him. Luckily the lessons Ryan taught me in the gym transferred outside and I am just as strong if not stronger in life as I am in the gym.  
2 years ago my second trainer quit the gym. I was defeated and not wanting to start over with a new trainer. I knew I had made progress, but the idea of starting over exhausted me just thinking about it. Luckily my trainer passed me off to Ryan.  
Ryan has been my trainer for 2 years. But he is so much more! He has taught me to trust myself again. He has taught me to trust others. He has pushed my body to its limits, but more importantly helped me get past the barriers in my own head that were holding me back. He has helped me reach goals, helped me not beat myself up when I took a step backwards. He has been my cheerleader, therapist, coach and friend! He made me feel comfortable to open up for the first time in years and admit that I had an eating disorder. He has put up with me on my difficult days, he has laughed with, given me a shoulder to cry on.  Most importantly he has believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself and he has taught me to believe in myself! And let’s not forget, he is the one that finally convinced me to throw my scale away– which changed my life!  
Thank you Ryan for everything you have taught me over the past two years. I honestly would not be who I am today without you! My next trainer has insanely large shoes to fill since you have left me with such high standards! I wish you and Amber the best of luck in the future!